Finding Hope In A Hopeless World

Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Once you become a Christian, the devil doesn’t give up on you. He just changes his strategy. What to do when Satan tries to hinder you.

INTRODUCTION
This is the seventh message from my verse-by-verse series from 1 Thessalonians. Our theme is “Finding HOPE in a HOPELESS World.” This message is entitled, “Don’t Let Satan Stop You.”
The devil is the root source of all the world’s problems. An
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Four hopeful truths about what happens when a Christian dies.

INTRODUCTION
We’re coming to a passage of scripture that is one of my favorites in the entire Bible. It is the most important section of the Bible that gives us details about the second coming of Jesus. We’re going to camp out here in this passage for the next few weeks.
June 30:
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

This message is all about the importance of praying for other people. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 teaches us an important lesson: Asking for prayer is not a sign of weakness. It's a mark of dependence.

INTRODUCTION
A little girl asked her grandmother, “Grandmother, how old are you?” Her grandmother said, “Sweetheart, it’s not nice to ask a woman her age.” The next day the granddaughter said, “Grandmother, how much do you weigh?” The grandmother
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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We can preach the gospel, but only the Holy Spirit can convict people of their sins.

INTRODUCTION
I’m teaching verse by verse through 1 Thessalonians. The name of the series is “Finding HOPE in a Hopeless world.” Today the message is entitled, “The Gospel According to You.”
We use the word “gospel” a lot. We talk about gospel music,
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Is your ladder of success leaning against the wrong wall?

INTRODUCTION
In the last message we examined the powerful admonition to maintain sexual purity even though we live in an X-rated culture. The next message from 1 Thessalonians will be from the familiar section predicting the second coming of Christ. But nestled between those two tall mountains
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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We should all be living as if Jesus was crucified yesterday; raised from the dead this morning, and is coming back this afternoon. Are you ready?

INTRODUCTION
One night a thief broke into a house he thought was deserted. As he walked through the darkened house with a flashlight he heard a voice from the kitchen that said, “Jesus is watching you.” He stopped and said, “Who’s there?” There was no answer so he
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. And when each of us is born, we inherit a little bit of the devil in each of us. It's called sin.

INTRODUCTION
One of the most popular patriotic songs is “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Many people don’t realize it comes from the War Between the States. It was actually written to be a recruitment song for the Union Forces. Of course, the favorite song of the Confederate
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are being changed from the inside out day by day. God's process of changing us covers every area of our lives: body, soul, and spirit.

INTRODUCTION
This is the last message in the series from 1 Thessalonians. I hope you’ve enjoyed these messages as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them.
Did you about the retired preacher who was searching for something in his wife’s closet? He pulled out a drawer and saw five
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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What the Bible says about sexual immorality and the definition of marriage.

INTRODUCTION
We live in interesting times. Last fall, on November 6, 2012, voters in Washington State approved two controversial issues, same-sex marriage and personal marijuana use. It’s interesting that the Bible says in Leviticus 20:13, “If a man lies with a man; they shall be
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Just as there twins in people, there are also twin truths in the Bible.

INTRODUCTION
This morning I’m beginning a new series from Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians. Some people think an epistle is the wife of an apostle, but it’s just a letter. When I finish 1 Thessalonians we’re going to go right into 2 Thessalonians, and then 1 and
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Satan has power to perform miracles. Just because someone claims to perform a miracle, doesn’t necessarily mean they are from God.

INTRODUCTION
There have always been religious people who are a little wacky announcing that the end of the world is near. Somebody emailed me a joke about two preachers standing beside the road holding a sign that said, “The End is Near. Turn Yourself Around Before It’s Too
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Why does God love you? Because God IS love. God loves you because God loves you. God knows more about you than anyone else. He knows every mistake you’ve ever made, and every mistake you’ll ever make. And yet, He still loves you with an unconditional love

INTRODUCTION
Life is tough, and even Christians get tired and discouraged at times. Have you ever heard the expression, “It’s enough to make a preacher cuss?” A pastor stopped at a yard sale to buy a used lawnmower. There was kid who was doing his best to make the sale. The
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Your work matters to God. There is great value in honest, hard work. Laziness is a landmine that can destroy a person and anyone around that person.

INTRODUCTION
An oxymoron is the combination of contradictory words linked together. The plural of oxymoron is oxymora, so here are a few of my favorite oxymora: (1) jumbo shrimp; (2) pretty ugly; (3) working vacation (4) tight slacks; (5) Microsoft works; (6) humble Texan; and the one
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Seven guidelines for healthy relationships.

INTRODUCTION
God gives us so many reminders of His great love for us. Sometimes we miss these reminders, but here’s one we don’t have to miss. Last week, after a brief thunderstorm, one of our members caught a picture of a rainbow over our church building. We don’t believe
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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There is a great blessing in store for God’s people who REFUSE to give up. There is great power in persistence.

INTRODUCTION
Paul’s first letter to church at Thessalonica was full of encouragement to be ready for the return of Christ. He reassured them that their loved ones who died won’t miss the big event—they’ll actually be the first act!
Most scholars think there is less
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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The importance of being a model of the Christian life to other believers.

INTRODUCTION
There was a young man who showed up for church on Easter and as he was leaving, he shook hands with the pastor at the door of the church. The pastor said, “Son, you need to join the army of the Lord.”
The man said, “Reverend, I’m already in the army of the
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Failure isn’t final and it isn’t fatal. God can bring you back from failure.

INTRODUCTION
This is the fourth message is the series from 1 Thessalonians which I’ve entitled, “Finding Hope in a Hopeless World.” In this message we’re going to talk about “How God Turns Failure into Favor.”
I don’t even know if kids in school take
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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One of these fall mornings when the temperature drops, you're going to walk outside and when you breathe, you'll see a vapor cloud. Watch how fast it disappears: That's the length of your life according to the Bible.

INTRODUCTION
A few weeks ago, I was channel surfing on my satellite radio, and I heard a pop song that kept repeating, “What do you want from me?” I tend to baptize, or biblicize everything I hear, so that phrase made me wonder if people ever stop and ask God, “God, what do you
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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When the bodies of believers are raptured, they will become like the resurrected body of Jesus.

INTRODUCTION
A nervous young preacher was preaching his first sermon. His topic was the Second Coming of Christ. He quoted from Revelation 22. He ran toward the edge of the platform and said with great enthusiasm, “Behold, I come quickly!” But he lost his train of thought and
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Are you on fire for Jesus, or has the fire gone out? Some people are so afraid of spiritual wildfire that they settle for no fire.

INTRODUCTION
Those who practice the religion of Buddhism learn there is an eightfold path that should take a person to place where they no longer experience suffering. There’s still suffering in the world, they are just no longer attached to it. Their idea of Nirvana is arriving at a state
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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The truth is, sometimes committed Christians stumble and fall into sin. The Bible reads like a Who’s Who of spiritual failures. Abraham was a liar; Moses was a murderer; David committed adultery and murder; Peter denied the Lord three times.

INTRODUCTION
This is the 28th message in this series called “Finding Hope in a Hopeless World.” As we come to the end of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, let’s review what we’ve learned. The main theme of these two letters is that Jesus Christ is coming
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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The Bible teaches that the main reason we gather together as a church is to encourage one another.

INTRODUCTION
This is the fifth message in the series from 1 Thessalonians entitled, “Finding Hope in a Hopeless World.” This message is entitled, “Church: Where God Puts the Lonely in a Family.”
Over the past few years I’ve been devoting a lot of attention to
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Life is tough. There really is no secret pathway to avoid suffering. But we don’t have to avoid suffering, because God has promised to give us the strength to endure.

INTRODUCTION
If you’re familiar with world religions, you’ve probably heard of the eightfold path of Buddhism. The two most famous Buddhists in the world are the Dali Lama and Tiger Woods. A couple of years ago, Tiger was guilty of some bad conduct that cost him his marriage and some
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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When you’re spiritually asleep it means you’re unaware of what God is doing right now in the world.

INTRODUCTION
One of the first church jokes I remember hearing is about the deacon who always went to sleep when his pastor started preaching. One Sunday, the pastor decided to play a trick on him. He started preaching, and sure enough, the drowsy deacon was soon sound asleep. The pastor said
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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The Word of God has supernatural power to change lives.

INTRODUCTION
This is the sixth message in the series from 1 Thessalonians. The series is entitled, “Finding Hope in a Hopeless World.” In this message we’re going to study “The Life-changing Power of the Word of God.”
A lot of people are confused about what the
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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Hell is an unpopular subject you don't hear much preaching about anymore. But I must speak about hell because the Bible speaks about hell.

INTRODUCTION
Before George Carlin or Woody Allen ever said, it comedian Sean Morey spoke these words on the Johnny Carson show in the 1980s. “I think that the life cycle is backwards. You should die first; get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You are kicked out when
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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What oxygen is to the body, encouragement is to the soul.

INTRODUCTION
This is the eighth message in the series “Finding Hope in a Hopeless World.” This message is entitled “The Courage to Encourage.”
In 1872 Daniel Kelley was living in Kansas and wrote the words to the song, “Home on the Range.” It is the
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Contributed on Oct 9, 2014

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The Day of the Lord refers to the time when God will dramatically intervene in human history and set in motion the events of the end of the world, as we know it.

INTRODUCTION
God has a great way of humbling us. This week I had the privilege of driving my two granddaughters, Lizzie and Caroline to school. They call me Dee Dee, so when I get to hang out with them, I call it Dee Dee duty. But I always say that when I get to be with them it’s a happy
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